Mallard: Expansion draft will shake up the NHL

Models unveil the jersey for the new Vegas Golden Knights NHL hockey team Tuesday in Las Vegas. AP PHOTO

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High school sports are over until fall and the Red Sox have yet to capture my attention. Here's what I'm keeping my eyes on these days.

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With the NHL expansion draft upon us, its hard not to think of how the NHL landscape will change in the next 24 hours.

This won't be the expansion draft of the '90s, when several new teams came into the league. Shorter lists of protected players means the Vegas Golden Knights will immediately have NHL-ready talent on their first night of play.

Will Vegas contend for a Stanley Cup in its first season? Unlikely. But the Golden Knights probably won't be the laughingstock of the league either.

They won't be picking the likes of Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin, but there's talent to be had. James Neal, Marc Andre Fleury and Matt Dumba are among the players likely to be heading to Sin City.

Like the other 30 teams in the NHL, the Boston Bruins will be losing a player in the expansion draft. The Bruins have protected franchise cornerstones like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci and Tuukka Rask -- among others -- and first- and second-year players are safe as well.

So who will Boston lose? I would love for this answer to be Jimmy Hayes, whose value on the ice escapes me. But a safe guess would be one of two defensemen: Adam McQuaid or Colin Miller. McQuaid is a proven, but sometimes injury-prone 30-year-old, stay-at-home D-man with some grit, while Miller is a 24-year-old blueliner with a bit more offensive potential.

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Either would be a loss for a team straining at defenseman, but unless GM Don Sweeney can swing some kind of deal with Vegas before the deadline, those are the most logical choices.

Speaking of drafts, Danny Ainge has to be up to something at the NBA draft, doesn't he?

If not, Celtics fans should be upset. How many so-called valuable assets does AInge need to collect before he finally swings any kind of deal?

Sure, dropping the top pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the third selection and a future pick can be considered bold, but not if the Celts don't do anything with the plethora of draft capital they've collected.

Having 42 draft picks does nothing for a team with a roster of 15. And stashing players in Europe only works for so long.

Ainge himself has alluded to Boston being loaded with good players, but having a need for a great player.

It's time for a big move or big disappointment.

Quick thoughts: At first, the Arizona Coyotes deciding not to offer a deal to Shane Doan after 20-plus years with the franchise seemed like a shady move by the team. But Doan isn't the same player who came up with the Coyotes back when they were the Winnipeg Jets: Last season, he notched just six goals and 21 assists in 74 games. Pro sports are a business, after all. .... Rick Porcello looks like a man searching for answers. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner just hasn't had it this season. Maybe he's a lot less Pedro Martinez (the Cy Young winner in 1998 and 1999) and a lot more Pete Vuckovich (the 1982 winner) than many thought. ... Co-worker Matt Langone pointed this out the other night: The San Antonio Stars are winless in WNBA action this season. We have this debate every year with the worst team in the NBA theoretically struggling against elite collegiate competition, but I have little doubt that UConn -- the best team in women's college hoops -- could take it to San Antonio.

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